There’s no shortage of films geared toward our youngest generations these days. And we’ve all seen them. Filmmakers grasping at straws to appeal to their Gen Z watchers in hopes of being met with anything other than eyerolls and snickers from those who determine what’s hip. It’s no secret that Urban Dictionary practically wrote the script and newsflash, filmmakers, your Gen Z audience can sense it from a mile away.
As a member of your target audience, allow me to raise the voices of my peers. What we are looking for in a movie is exactly what the industry lacks right now: originality and authenticity.
Let me also be clear: The industry’s shortcomings are no faults of your own. In today’s world, we all frequently yearn for simpler days when the Internet and smartphones were nothing more than a fleeting thought. The age of social media has made it so hard to find good, genuine work in all the surrounding white noise. But the industry is starting to feel like Groundhog Day (and don’t try to remake that film, we’ve seen it already). So, what do we do in a world where authenticity is few and far between? I’d like to propose we review our mistakes for a minute.
From what I’ve seen, the primary correlation between Gen Z and the film/music industry right now is TikTok. Not necessarily an aspect of the Gen Z identity that should be ignored, but certainly not the pinnacle of culture for the generation, and it shouldn’t be treated as such.
This mistake manifests itself primarily within dialogue. Series and films such as “Ginny and Georgia,” and “He’s All That” are prime examples of scripts that read (in Gen Z terms) as ‘cringe’. The dialogue, full of TikTok buzzwords and trending slang such as ‘rizz’ and ‘cap’ are generally unappealing to the age group not because they are inaccurate, but because they will always be one of two things (and often both): embarrassing and outdated.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, my demographic has no interest in hearing ourselves talk. It’s almost like hearing your voice in a recording or seeing a picture of yourself inverted; it feels off-kilter and it completely opposes your personal image. And although the dialogue may be accurate, the intention behind it is not.
Gen Z appreciates a sense of irony. So much so that every part of their linguistic arsenal revolves around it. Simply put, Gen Z isn’t spitting out ‘rizz’ and ‘cap’ without the recognition of its absurdity. The joke is not in the phrases themselves but in the unspoken yet communal understanding behind them. It translates to, “We recognize the lunacy at hand, and we bet you don’t know that we can see it. The joke is on you.” It’s a red herring of a punchline. It’s quite a multi-faceted humor. But when filmmakers and scriptwriters include these terms without this very key acknowledgement, the joke is on them. At this point, a script is now deemed ‘cringe.’
By the time it hits the big screen, it’s also outdated. Trends originated from TikTok will never withstand the length of making a movie because they circulate through the fasted platform on the Internet. Once these films are on the phones of the intended demographic, we are right back to where we started: cringe.
The product is a cash grab. And Gen Z has seen plenty of those. The mass-production of micro-trend movies combined with remakes of classic films has affirmed the industry as lazy in the eyes of today’s youth.
So, what can we do right? Let’s take a look at the greats. My thoughts initially gravitate to “Good Will Hunting” and “Blair Witch project”, two classic representations of the late 90’s while remaining timeless at the same time. The goal wasn’t to make money, and there certainly wasn’t much money given for budget. These films succeeded because their filmmakers had something to say. Their driving force was pure passion. The appeal of the youth came naturally because, believe it or not, our young generations can sense when a movie is made for the sake of humanity rather than the sake of profit. Because of this, these films are utterly timeless.
A movie made for the love of making movies is the key to Gen Z’s heart. On behalf of my generation, I encourage all filmmakers to remember that.
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Grace is an American student in her undergrad who joined Raindance for a two month internship program in order to complete her bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts at Grove City College, Pennsylvania as well as learn from the incredible team here at Raindance. This internship is both a great learning experience and a chance to explore the film industry. At Raindance, Grace works in press and marketing. She also helps with other areas of the festival as needed.
